The American Way of Un-Democracy

As some may know, this is a pet peeve of mine going back quite some time: The fundamentally un-democratic American congress since the Senate so disciminates against larger states.  Now Adam Liptak at the NYT has done an important piece showing how this really effects us as small state senators go against national public opinion.  As he points out, the 38 million who lives in California get exactly two Senators, while the 38 million who live in the 22 smallest states get...44.   Ponder that for a moment.  And Vermont has 30 times the voting power of New York.

No surprise, the small states get more federal dough:  "The top five per capita recipients of federal stimulus grants were states so small that they have only a single House member. 'From highway bills to homeland security,' said Sarah A. Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University, 'small states make out like bandits.'”


As for overall results:

The Constitution has always given residents of states with small populations a lift, but the size and importance of the gap has grown markedly in recent decades, in ways the framers probably never anticipated. It affects the political dynamic of issues as varied as gun control, immigration and campaign finance.

In response, lawmakers, lawyers and watchdog groups have begun pushing for change. A lawsuit to curb the small-state advantage in the Senate’s rules is moving through the courts. The Senate has already made modest changes to rules concerning the filibuster, which has particularly benefited senators from small states. And eight states and the District of Columbia have endorsed a proposal to reduce the chances that the small-state advantage in the Electoral College will allow a loser of the popular vote to win the presidency.